Episode 27: Reconstructing the News
Manfred George's Aufbau
In 1930s New York, there was only one publication that fully covered the worsening situation for Jewish people in Europe: Aufbau. With a daring approach to journalism, editor Manfred George transformed the tiny newsletter of a German-Jewish social club into a lifeline for a worldwide community of refugees. His paper also reported on the atrocities unfolding in Hitler’s Germany long before the mainstream press. The Aufbau held together a community strained past the breaking point, and also helped its local readers integrate as Americans. It was a project so successful that it could not last.
In addition to the complete run of Aufbau from 1934–2004, which the LBI has digitized and made freely accessible online, our collections include the papers of Norbert and Lilo Goldenberg, the publishers of Aufbau.
Learn more at lbi.org/aufbau
Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions. It’s narrated by Joshua Malina.
This episode was written by Nadia Mehdi.
Our executive producers are Laura Regehr and Stuart Coxe.
Our producer is Emily Morantz.
Research and translation by Isabella Kempf and Tamara Lewis.
Voice acting by Adi Braun, Patrick Garrow, Gordon Hecht, Athena Karkanis, and Cyrus Lane.
Sound design and audio mix by Gaëtan Harris, with additional mixing by Philip Wilson.
Theme music by Oliver Wickham.
This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.
